Cristiano Ronaldo sued for promoting the Binance exchange

Legendary Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo just got a class action lawsuit. The injured people claim that it was because of him that they suffered financial losses because... he was the face of one of the promotions Cryptocurrency exchanges Binance. And because of him, they invested in digital-based financial instruments and did not expect that they could lose.

Recall: Binance signed a deal with world soccer's number one last year. Not only did CR7 become the face of the exchange, his personalized NFT collection was also issued and available on Binance Pay.

The five-time winner of the Ballon d'Or, the award for the best football player in the world, and European champion in 2016, worked closely with Binance marketing specialists. He appeared on posters, stadiums and countless advertisements on the Internet. And this was what was supposed to convince crowds of new users who started depositing their money on the Binance cryptocurrency exchange. They bought not only NFTs with the Portuguese footballer, but also invested in other instruments based on digital assets. And they lost. Because of your own bad investment decisions? No, they think Cristiano Ronaldo is guilty.

A lawsuit based on facts or a star's "money grab"?

– “Cristiano Ronaldo promoted, assisted or actively participated in the offering and sale of unregistered securities in cooperation with Binance” – we read in the justification for the lawsuit.

Did he persuade someone, convince someone, explain how it works? No, he was just a face in an ad. Known by everyone, liked and respected by many. But have the actors appearing in advertisements, e.g. Amber Gold, been sued? For now – no. However, the CR7 is undoubtedly more famous. And more wealthy, which may not be irrelevant, at least from the point of view of the defendants.

They mention in the lawsuit that Cristiano Ronaldo either knew or should have known "about Binance's sale of unregistered securities."

A difficult case for the court

Everything indicates that the court will have a hard time. Mainly because to this day there is no legal consensus on whether cryptocurrencies are securities or not. And if there are, which ones, because in fact these are often completely different ecosystems.

The next problem will be identifying possible culprits. Is a movie star, athlete or even an influencer obliged to screen entities that have been operating legally for years and check whether they have any offers in their portfolio that may be illegal? Or maybe the more famous the person, the more they should check it?

It sounds absurd, but let's remember that the case will take place in the USA (if it takes place, of course). And this is a country where, for example, you can win millions of dollars in compensation for spilling coffee on yourself at McDonald's and proving that no one informed you that it would be hot...

Tough weeks for Binance

One thing is certain: around Binance it will be hot again. The company has been going through difficult times in recent months. She has just signed a settlement with SEC, which ends with the payment of almost USD 5 billion. Additionally Changpeng Zhao had to resign from the position of CEO – founder and creator of the power of Binance.

However, everything indicates that this did not end the turbulent times that BNB fans expected. Many large ships in the crypto industry have already sunk in smaller storms, but Binance - thanks to its solid financial foundations - continues to sail on the raging sea of ​​digital finance. However, those waiting for further market growth hope that they will be able to moor in a quiet port as soon as possible.